As a result of the increase in women’s participation in the workforce, protection of

maternity became more significant issue. Hence it’s a constitutional obligation to

legally regulate the working conditions of women workers with the aim to protect the

family, which is the basis of society, and especially maternal and child health.

Therefore, positive chances have been introduced into the legislation in relation to the

scope of beneficiaries of maternity leave and thereby a right to half time leave has

lately been granted to workers giving birth or adoption. In today’s society the family

structure in which both parents are working, has gained wide currency, the right of

parental leave, in other words the right of change the shifts from full time shift to part

time shift, is incorporated in to the Turkish Labor Law for the first time, responding to

the need of introducing new regulations for workers with familial. In this study,

maternity and parental leave are examined in detail within the scope of the Labor Law.